Personnel Management Guidelines
by DinoDina
Summary: Set after Meat: Gwen's outburst left the Hub tense and angry. Jack steps up to solve it all. Janto. Oneshot.


The cog door slid shut after Gwen and there was a momentary silence before Jack put his water bottle into Ianto's hand and retreated to his desk. Ianto rubbed the back of his head and exchanged glances with Tosh and Owen.

It wasn't unusual to see Gwen and Jack butting heads, but this… she'd dragged the rest of them into it, as well, and while Ianto understood that she needed Rhys to know—and Owen and Tosh agreed, albeit to a lesser extent—it had been rude and unfair. Jack playing into her manipulation was just the icing on the cake. If the cake was overcooked and the icing had been made with salt instead of sugar.

The atmosphere was still too tense to talk, so after another look at each other, Tosh focused on her computers, Owen retreated to the autopsy bay, and Ianto stood leaning on the wall, deciding between feeding the inmates and going to see Owen to get some cream for the rope burn on his wrists.

Talking didn't seem like a good idea. Any sound could trigger another outburst, and Ianto had already had enough.

He pushed away from the wall and put Jack's water bottle and his tumbler on the coffee table, to be put away and washed later. He made up his mind against further interaction and went down to the cells.

The common area in front of Jack's office was empty now. At his desk, Jack watched Gwen and Rhys on the CCTV. They hugged each other, Gwen still breathing heavily from her outburst, then stood and left the Plass. It was still bright, but the light seemed cold on the computer screen.

Jack looked at the empty Plass for a few more minutes. There was nothing there for him. Gwen was on her way home with Rhys. She'd won. She was a valuable member of Torchwood, but not the only one. There were three more people in the Hub—people who Jack loved. Away at his desk, his focus on Gwen, Jack knew he'd failed them.

Ianto was coming up from the archives—having changed his mind mid-way to the cells and then being too wound up to file—to clean the dishes and make coffee when Jack barreled down the stairs and grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

"I've got things to do, Jack."

For a moment, Jack looked like he was going to back down, but then he set his jaw and shook his head. "You'll do them later. I have something I need to say." He raised his voice: "To all of you."

They were both listening, wary of another fight; Owen stomped back up the stairs and Tosh cautiously swiveled in her chair. They both looked ready for a confrontation, but Jack didn't look angry, just determined.

"The conference room would probably be a better place to say all of this, but I don't want it to be a business conversation." Jack looked around. "I screwed up. I'm sorry."

Owen had taken a step back, Tosh's mouth was open, and Ianto's eyes were narrowed as if he was looking at something particularly puzzling.

"And I know what it says about my leadership that you're all surprised. I guess I deserve that. But I mean it. Gwen was out of line and so was I." Jack waited for them to come closer; the initial shock had worn off, now, and they listened with serious expressions. "I wasn't a very good leader."

"You weren't."

Jack nodded at Ianto, who looked at him severely. "I wasn't," he repeated. "She put you all down and put herself and Rhys above Torchwood."

"What are you going to do about it?" Owen demanded.

"I'll talk to her."

"You've never talked to her before, though," Tosh pointed out. "What if she doesn't listen? Or, what, you just give her a slap on the wrist and nothing changes?"

"I'm implementing a new policy." Jack held Gwen to a different standard than the rest of his team, and still wasn't sure if it was for the better or worse. On one hand, she got away with more; on the other, he never gave her a chance to grow as a person or operative. Whichever it was, it was unfair to the rest of his team, and while he had never aimed for Gwen to be a favorite, she had become infallible in his eyes. He took a deep breath, and when he continued, he had made up his mind. "We both failed you. I hope she knows that. I do. I'm going to make it clear where her loyalty should lie. And if it's not with Torchwood…"

"You're going to let her go?"

"That's a bit too much like London for my taste," Ianto said. At Jack's harsh tone, he exchanged a worried look with Tosh, who had just spoken.

"You're right. She's a good asset. But there's more to Torchwood than Gwen." Jack met each of their eyes in turn. "You shouldn't worry about her safety. But I'm going to set things right. You've all made sacrifices to be here and continue to make sacrifices every day. She doesn't. Gwen isn't better than any one of you. She will respect you as her teammates."

He looked at them all again with finality. In any other situation, he'd swish his coat and go back to his office—except Jack wasn't wearing his coat, and he wasn't going to abandon his team again. He relaxed his posture to appear open.

"I've let Gwen go for the night, so you can all go home, too. You have lives, no matter what she thinks." Jack ignored the grimaces that faced him when he mentioned Gwen's words. "I've kept you from rest long enough. You deserve it."

"Yeah, no offense, Jack," Owen's tone implied exactly how much offense he meant, "but I'm going to stay just a bit more. Write up my report, you know. While it's all still fresh in my memory."

He curled his lips and threw Jack a look before stomping down to his desk.

Jack winced.

As far as Owen was concerned, Jack could stew for a bit longer. He'd been on the receiving end of Jack's forgiveness as well as Jack's anger—he was still guilty and confused, sometimes, as to why Jack had forgiven him for killing him. And while Jack was the best leader he'd ever had, was a man Owen would follow to the end of the world no matter how much he protested, he was pissed. Yes, Jack was suitably guilty, and _yes, of course_ Owen would forgive him, but he needed to process.

"I'm going to stay, too," Tosh said, calmer than Owen, but something pointed in her voice, not exactly hostility, but something meant to hurt Jack and drive home the hurt she felt.

Jack met Ianto's eyes and his gaze said: _and you, Ianto?_

"I'm staying." Ianto reached forward and gave Jack's arm a squeeze. "I just need to clean some things up. But I'm staying."

He left Jack alone and grabbed the water and glass he'd left on the coffee table before. It was too late for coffee—and if not too late, then too hectic a day—but he could put on some tea for Tosh and Owen before they left. Jack needed some before they left as well. Ianto wasn't exactly mad—he had been, for a moment, when Gwen's panic had gotten Rhys shot, when he himself had been in danger of the same, when the space whale had died, when Gwen had stormed in and accused them all of not understanding. He'd made mistakes for love. He could excuse that. He could even excuse Jack's favoritism. To an extent.

He still bristled a bit when he thought of it all, but if there was one constant in Torchwood it was that they were broken. All of them, even Gwen, to some extent or other. They weren't inhuman like Gwen had accused. Their suffering and jaded outlook hid the pain well. They had all experienced the farthest extent of pain and had come out on top. If that wasn't human, what was?

Jack's apology had righted the world. Ianto didn't doubt that they'd talk later, just the two of them. There was no escaping communication of that sort when they were in a relationship, no matter how terrified Ianto was of whatever truths would be bared between them. But for now, the air was clear enough for them to go home together, mourn the space whale, and come in the next day ready to face whatever the Rift threw at them.

Tosh watched Ianto clean up out of the corner of her eye. She wasn't used to being mad at Jack. From the moment he'd rescued her from the UNIT prison, she'd looked up to him. She loved him—not the way Gwen or Ianto did, or even Owen—and it hurt to see how blindsided he was by Gwen. They all depended on Jack in one way or another. He depended on them in return; it wasn't fair how easily manipulated he was, even if Gwen was doing it inadvertently.

Her phone buzzed with a text from Owen: _Pub?_

It would be nice to relax after all this. Properly relax, not just by doing familiar things on her computer. She sighed and tried to sit comfortably, but she was still tense. She shot Ianto another look. Maybe it would do him good to get out, too, but he had eyes for no one but Jack; a look at Jack showed that he was watching Ianto, too.

She sent back a text: _Program running. Ten minutes?_

Owen sent back an affirmative.

Ten minutes later, he returned to the main floor of the Hub. Jack was at his desk, not quite removed from them, but when Owen approached, report in hand, he stood up to meet Owen on equal ground.

"You're done with it?" Though he'd phrased it as a question—and there was no doubt that by "it", Owen meant whatever was going on between Jack and Gwen—Owen's tone expected no answer.

Nevertheless, Jack nodded.

"Good." Owen bypassed Jack to place his report on the desk. Then, his complaints in the file and the day over, let go of his angry fire and accepted Jack's earlier apology. "Thanks."

"You did good today, Owen," replied Jack, to whom failure and unsatisfactory endings were old friends. "You saved us, even if you couldn't save the whale. You couldn't have saved it. You did everything right. You're a good field agent and doctor. I'm proud of you."

Owen didn't trust himself to just thank Jack without anything else slipping through. The sincerity of Jack's statement tugged at his heart and he drew the captain in for a hug, which was safe to do; Ianto and Tosh were looking away. Besides, unexpected though it was, since Jack never apologized, he believed it.

Owen cleared his throat awkwardly and left Jack with a final clap on the shoulder. He could only stand so much sincerity. He stopped at Tosh's desk just she was turning off the computer.

"You ready to go?"

"I just need to give this to Jack." She smiled hesitantly and lifted her report. She gave them to Ianto, usually, but it was as good an excuse as any.

Saying "I forgive you," to Jack was weird. Hard. She didn't like being mad at him.

Her anger floated away when Jack drew her into a hug and whispered, "Thank you." She stood back from the hug and made to leave when Jack continued, "I'm proud of you. I don't say it enough, but I am. You did good surveillance and clean-up. You keep a clear head and you're an amazing field agent. You know more about tech than anyone else I know. There's no one else I'd want looking out for me in the field. Thank you."

Jack had sought Tosh out years ago, rescued her from a small UNIT cell, and he knew he'd failed her. She didn't need him anymore, not as much as at the very beginning, but to think that she didn't expect him capable of remorse and apology—she was extraordinarily strong and kind, and Jack wanted to get back to the trust they'd once shared. Toshiko saw him as a human being, an equal: they'd danced together even after they'd gotten back from the Rift, they spoke the same language on a technical level. He wasn't her hero, not like he was Gwen's, and their relationship was all the stronger for it.

Owen watched Jack let Tosh go; it looked like she wanted to do something more at her computer, so he intercepted her, coat in hand, and led her to the cog door. They looked back at Jack, now standing near his desk, and tried to quickly find Ianto, but he was nowhere in sight.

Tosh shot Owen a worried look. She didn't want to come back to the Hub the next day to a frigid atmosphere in the aftermath of something happening between Jack and Ianto.

Still, if Ianto wanted them to stay, he would have told them, and so, with a final glance back, Tosh allowed Owen to lead her out.

Jack stood near his desk for another minute. Two down, one to go. He wanted to give Ianto the space he needed to process but didn't want to create so much space between them that they would never discuss it. It was a delicate balance and Jack wasn't sure if he could maintain it.

Another minute passed and Ianto was still somewhere deep in the Hub. Jack knew Ianto was aware that Tosh and Owen had gone; like he'd said weeks ago, he always knew about everything to do with the Hub.

Jack frowned.

He wanted not only to mend things between him and Ianto on a professional level but on a personal one. That would take work—and Jack was willing to put in that work.

He pushed away from the desk and gave the main Hub a cursory look. Even without knowing Ianto as well as he did, searching the archives was the best choice. Jack headed towards them, only to bump into Ianto on the stairs.

Like Tosh and Owen, Ianto wasn't sure what to think of Jack's sudden show of leadership and support. The Jack he knew cared for them all, was loving, supportive, and understanding, but was absolutely awful at saying it. He chose to show it: in random bonuses in their bank accounts, in taking most of their night shifts, in his endless forgiveness.

On Jack's part, the words were long overdue. He'd seen Gwen home, but there was far more to his team than her. And after her insubordination and hurtful words, it was his turn to pick up the pieces—or what passed for pieces with his team, who were too strong—or perhaps too damaged—to _need_ his damage control. But they were his team and he owed it to them to be the responsible leader he had always promised himself he'd be. He was biased when it came to Ianto—he didn't want to lose him, not now that they were growing closer than ever.

"I watched the CCTV," Jack said when Ianto remained silent, "before Tosh erased it."

"Did you?"

"You were good."

"I did exactly what was expected of me."

Ianto looked slightly disapproving, but he put his hands on his hips to stop from fidgeting, and Jack smiled. "You were efficient and quick on your feet. You didn't panic, you got yourself out of there, you got Owen what he needed, and you took care of the stragglers. It's exactly what's expected of you—you're an invaluable asset to the team, Ianto."

Ianto was speechless; it wasn't like Jack had never complimented him—or the rest of them—but he'd expected to go home alone while Jack brooded on a rooftop somewhere, no matter that he'd promised to stay and tried to hope for the best. Then he'd expected to go home together and deal with the tension with jokes and half-truths before falling into bed together. It seemed too good to be true: actually talking through things before they could become problems. It seemed scary.

"Can we talk?" Jack said when Ianto was once again silent.

Ianto nodded. "Let's sit."

He led the way up the last few steps and closed the door to the archives behind them. Jack followed all the way to the sofa, where they sat together, mere inches between them. Enough to allow for a serious conversation but not too far that they were separated.

"How are you?" Jack said.

"I'm fine."

"You were shot at. Point-blank. It'd be normal for you to be not fine. Especially with how the rest of it turned out." Jack chuckled darkly. "I'm sure you have things to say. I know for a fact that Owen tore apart every single one of my choices—not to mention Gwen's—in his report. He'd be right if he did. This isn't a dictatorship. I want you to be able to tell me what you think of my leadership, even if it's bad. Gwen said plenty already. And while I don't condone the way she said it, I need her to challenge me."

"Not all the time." So they _were_ going to talk about it. Ianto paused and tried to collect his thoughts. "You're our leader for a reason. And I _understand_ telling Rhys about us. It was killing her. But bringing him in was dangerous—it could have killed him—and irresponsible. Gwen has the least training on the team, she was emotional, and there's really no excuse on _your_ part for letting it all happen. The whale died, Rhys got shot, Gwen…"

"Yes?"

"I'm not sure I'm the person to tell you off about Gwen."

"Because we're together?"

"Because I'm one of the people Gwen insulted. Because I've betrayed you too many times to talk about insubordination." Ianto huffed to cover his guilt. "But yes, that, too."

"There's nothing going on between me and her." Jack put a hand up when Ianto looked like he was going to protest. "Just so you know. I know it can seem that way, but we're clearing the air, I wanted to say it."

"All I meant was that I didn't think us being together should influence your professional choices." Nevertheless, it was nice to hear it, not that Ianto would ever say it out loud. His insecurities rarely extended to Gwen, but he wasn't about to pretend that the thought hadn't crossed his mind. "But yes, I think Gwen was out of line. You're our leader for a reason. You make the tough calls and you're good at making them. As good as someone can be. There's no one else I'd want to follow." Ianto paused again. "I'm not one to talk. Glass houses and all that. You've forgiven me for so much, I can't ask you to punish Gwen. Nor do I want to. We all need to be reminded of things outside Torchwood sometimes, but she's not the only one with ties outside of here. Family, friends. I've… said things I regret, in times of stress. Done things I regret. I'm sure Gwen feels the same way—"

"I'll talk to her."

"I didn't—"

"Challenging me is one thing, insulting everyone and making poor field decisions is another."

Ianto nodded. He wasn't used to talking so much, let alone as he gave his boss advice on dealing with a coworker. Because that was who he and Jack were in this moment: they separated their personal and professional lives, with good reason, but Jack's concern was worrying. He couldn't help but feel that Jack was blurring the carefully drawn line. Wasn't that where Gwen had gone wrong? The only reason his relationship with Jack was functioning was because they were exceptionally well at compartmentalizing. Ianto had no illusions about how dangerous it would be to blur the lines between Torchwood and romance.

"Thank you." Jack moved closer, eliminating the small space between them, and hoped that it was enough to signal to Ianto that he was no longer present there as his boss. "How are you?"

"I'm _fine_. A bit bruised, but that's nothing new. You?"

"I can't say today was a success." Jack pretended not to notice the rope burns on Ianto's wrists that he was clearly trying to hide and just as staunchly tried not to think of seeing Ianto get shot. "But I _did_ enjoy watching you on CCTV when you went after them all. It was hot."

There was the Jack Ianto knew. He took a deep breath and relaxed now that they were on familiar footing. He could only take so much sincerity in so short a time—not that he was complaining. The air between him and Jack had never been clearer, not on a personal _or_ professional level.

"I'm sure I could be that assertive in other places if you wanted me to be, Jack."

Jack laughed as Ianto's proposition—which he was _definitely _going to take him up on—dissipated the last of the tension.

He valued Ianto's opinion; he valued Ianto himself. Seeing Ianto get shot at—he still didn't know why the gun hadn't worked: had it been out of bullets or had it jammed? Jack wasn't sure which was scarier to think about—and then sending him after the men who'd just tried to kill him had been the last thing he'd wanted to do. But Ianto was right and Torchwood came first. They'd both done what they'd had to.

For all that Jack wanted Gwen to accept the realities of the job, he liked her naivete. Needed it, sometimes—today hadn't been one of those days.

"You can be assertive some other time," Jack said, standing up and drawing Ianto with him. "I think it's an early night for us. I'm sure we can reheat something from yesterday."

Ianto nodded. "There's a decent amount of curry left."

"Good."

He'd eat and sleep much better having cleared the air in the Hub. Jack's conscience wasn't anywhere close to being clean, and he had long reconciled himself with the fact that it would never feel clean again, but apologizing had felt good. Having his apology be accepted was a beginning. He would continue to make things right—he would talk to Gwen, catch up with Tosh and Owen to make sure they were alright—and it was a step in the right direction. He trusted his team, loved them, supported them—_this_ team more than any others—and he would not lose them to a stupid mistake.

Jack wasn't perfect. But he would work hard to be as close to that as he could be, for his team.


End file.
